To begin with, Susan has a cold. Nothing dramatic; just standard upper respiratory stuff, and probably to be expected after changing twelve hours of time zone in the space of a week. So we decided not to set an alarm to go to the fish market at 5am, but thought we might go if we woke up at the right hour. We did wake up shortly after four, but by the time we got down to the waterfront at 5:15, all of the tickets to observe the tuna auction were gone. Allegedly, the rest of the fish market wouldn’t be open until 9, and we didn’t half fancy waiting around four hours, so we just called the whole thing off and went back to bed.

When we awoke mid-morning (after a titanic struggle with the snooze button), we set about making some bookings for onward travel in Japan. Kyoto ended up being quite a challenge to find something reasonably comfortable, inexpensive, and well-located, but we shuffled our dates around a bit and found something. We also booked a ryokan In Takayama and a shokubo temple lodging in Koyasan.

Bookings made, we headed back out for Roppongi, aiming for the 21_21 Design Sight, only to find the museum shut for almost the entire time we are in the country. Foiled again!

We satisfied ourselves with the second-choice National Art Center, which is an architecturally beautiful building, but the contents were not really what we were looking for…19th century European impressionists and 20th century American pop art. Not exactly what you come to Japan to see. (Although we did get to see a Gauguin that had accidentally been hung up the wrong way around, which was amusing).

The Mori Art Museum was much better value for money, exhibiting contemporary Japanese Art, bundled with spectacular views of the city from its 52nd floor perch.